G5 For $650

[Kurt Cobain]

true.

I kinda dont get that I was from the begining saying 'this' was impossible to be real, and then along with that the shiz word "tempting", which had a couple of you long timers predict I'm a n00b.

I'm talking from the undead world FYI.

 

[QCassidy352]

Originally posted by hvfsl
This is the email reply I got (I asked if I could pick the G5 up):

I'm brocker and I have one contract with UPS.
The owner of units ask me for UPS and Money Order documents.
Without this document's I can't take my commission

Thats a new one on me. Common ones are, we are a warehouse and dont allow members of the public in, or I wont be in on that day you want to come.

ooh, yes, very original. Transparent, but original. I like it.

 

[yoman]

on the other hand

this whole thing could have been not a scam entirely. maybe the guy raided an apple reseller in England last night. stole a couple of G5s and was trying to sell them quick to get his hands of them. $650 x 9 = $5,850 - $900 in shipping to U.S. = $4,950. Not bad profit. However i don't think this scenario was the case. It would make a neat Hollywood Movie though.
Just Kidding.

 

[sethypoo]

Hmm.....

Invalid Item

The item you requested (2770631588) is invalid, still pending, or no longer in our database. Please check the number and try again. If this message persists, the item has either not started and is not yet available for viewing, or has expired and is no longer available.

It's gone.

 

[cr2sh]

Originally posted by sethypoo
It's gone.

It was never there to begin with.

We get more posts about "is this an ebay scam?" than probably anything else (maybe the "desktop or laptop?" question) but seriosuly... how obvious does it have to be?

If I ever start trying to scam ebayers, I think my goal would be to stay practical.. If I threw up a dual g5 for $2500 explaining I simply decided I wanted a laptop.. I could rip people off... but this... this isnt even realistic.

 

[makingmesick]

I have to agree with cr2sh on this one. Some people have to learn the hard way.

I myself was scammed in a very similar auction. They ask you to send the money via Western Union, once you do, that's it. No product, no money, no response. Nothing you can do about it.

My powerbook cost me $1000 more than it should have because I fell for one of those damn "too good to be true" deals. I wish ebay had caught it before I sent the money, but then again, it was my blind ignorance for sending it in the first place.

A warning to everyone out there buying on Ebay, BE CAREFUL. If it sounds to good to be real, then dammit, it probably isn't.

I still purchase small items from Ebay, but anything worth a substantial amount, you should really look into before you throw your hard earned cash at it.

 

[QCassidy352]

ok, i've got one for you. 2 powermac G4 Dual 1.25's on ebay. The auction looks suspicious - not like the guy's prior auctions, and payment in USD, not british pounds as his other items have been. But the seller does sell computer items. There's no buy it now, which is a hallmark of scams, nor is payment by western union or money order only. In fact, he says he accepts escrow.

But the auction just doesn't look right. Cheaply done... not much detail. There is one picture of the actual item, not a stock online photo.

So I e mail the guy. Here's what I say:

"I'm guessing your account has been hijacked, as your other auctions are not in USD and look different from this one. But if this really is your auction... you'll accept escrow via escrow.com? thanks."

He replies:

"Dear Sir,
I have 2 Apple PowerMac G4 for sale.I will ship the package with all the accessories provided by the manufacturer and have 1 year of warranty fully covered by every service center.The price is in USD because the Mac is US voltage and i sell them in US.
All the manuals and the original documentation are in English.I accept escrow.com if you pay the fees.Where are you located?
Thank you."

The little voice in my head is yelling "scam." But he accepts escrow.com. I don't see how this would work for him if it were a scam. Thoughts?

 

[yoman]

i see your dilemna

Originally posted by QCassidy352

He replies:

"Dear Sir,
I have 2 Apple PowerMac G4 for sale.I will ship the package with all the accessories provided by the manufacturer and have 1 year of warranty fully covered by every service center.The price is in USD because the Mac is US voltage and i sell them in US.
All the manuals and the original documentation are in English.I accept escrow.com if you pay the fees.Where are you located?
Thank you."

The little voice in my head is yelling "scam." But he accepts escrow.com. I don't see how this would work for him if it were a scam. Thoughts?

hmmm... if he accepts escrow it seems as though he's legit. his english grammar is a little poor for an Englishman. Maybe he's an immigrant. if a little voice is telling you scam then look back in your life to see how often that little voice has been right. If it has then heed its advice. That's my opinion of course.

 

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by cr2sh
It was never there to begin with.

We get more posts about "is this an ebay scam?" than probably anything else (maybe the "desktop or laptop?" question) but seriosuly... how obvious does it have to be?

No need to be indignant about it...I mean, sure these scams look obvious to you and me, but some people are new to this whole racket. At least they are following intuition enough to ask others, instead of blindly bidding (or purchasing) as at least one person did in this $650 G5 debacle.

 

[sethypoo]

Originally posted by cr2sh
It was never there to begin with.

We get more posts about "is this an ebay scam?" than probably anything else (maybe the "desktop or laptop?" question) but seriosuly... how obvious does it have to be?

If I ever start trying to scam ebayers, I think my goal would be to stay practical.. If I threw up a dual g5 for $2500 explaining I simply decided I wanted a laptop.. I could rip people off... but this... this isnt even realistic.

How could it have never been there to begin with if it was the topic of this forum?

 

[cr2sh]

Originally posted by sethypoo
How could it have never been there to begin with if it was the topic of this forum?

I was referring to the g5 for sale - it was a scam. I guarantee you this guy doesn't have any g5s. Hence my comment. Try to keep up next time, eh?

The hyper-sensitivity of this place is amazing. This is, hands down, an obvious hoax. Any amount of common sense would tell you that... I comment on it and get called indignant. That's not the way it should work. Its not like I'm being an elitist here... I'm simply saying we shouldn't entertain ridiculousness.

 

[amnesiac1984]

I had a similar experience very recently and these scams are very common in the mac section of ebay.co.uk.

They are usually a maxed out G5 or 17" going for £1200 buy it now, normally with at least one cinema display if not two and a list of dream accessories as long as your arm (iPod 40G, iSight, Panther server unlimited, Logitech speaker system (top of the range), with 8gb RAM etc etc)

But when you email them they try to get oyu to buy outside of ebay and mail the money to poland. On inspection of their feedback all they have bought and sold are items of less than £1! Faked feedback.

 

[jxyama]

Originally posted by QCassidy352
"Dear Sir,
I have 2 Apple PowerMac G4 for sale.I will ship the package with all the accessories provided by the manufacturer and have 1 year of warranty fully covered by every service center.The price is in USD because the Mac is US voltage and i sell them in US.

either this guy's a scam or a thief. he doesn't know what he's selling for one. one year warranty "fully covered by every service center" - he either didn't read the mac warranty (90 day phone support, 1 year hardware) or just assumed it's a generic warranty. (there are no "service centers" for apple... apple stores, yes, but they aren't called service centers.)

in addition, all macs carry universal power supply that can adjust its voltage. the price being in USD because "the Mac is US voltage" makes no sense at all.

i imagine he will "accept escrow" until the transaction is to take place and then reneg on using it by claiming it doesn't work for him or that he's having technical problems...

 

[jxyama]

Originally posted by themadchemist
No need to be indignant about it...I mean, sure these scams look obvious to you and me, but some people are new to this whole racket. At least they are following intuition enough to ask others, instead of blindly bidding (or purchasing) as at least one person did in this $650 G5 debacle.

even if you are "new," if you are thoughtful enough to look up the going price of the G5, then it should look obvious to anyone that this is a scam.

having been here a while, we do get a pretty constant flow of these auction related questions. while i'd personally stay away from posting any comments if all i have to say is how idiotic one would be to believe such a deal could be real, i don't really fault other posters from thinking like that. it's quite ridiculous if you thought this through at all. i understand the temptation and inpulse to ask, but it's still quite silly, in my opinion.

 

[jxyama]

Originally posted by makingmesick
I myself was scammed in a very similar auction. They ask you to send the money via Western Union, once you do, that's it.

sorry to hear about your ordeal.

i wish more people would understand exactly what Western Union is doing. it's money wiring - a quicker version of stuffing your envelope with cash and mailing it. it's not a transaction of purchase like using a credit card - you really are just sending CASH.

ebay should do a public service and make people aware about this. if any seller even mentions Western Union, the sale should be called off.

 

[QCassidy352]

Originally posted by jxyama
either this guy's a scam or a thief. he doesn't know what he's selling for one. one year warranty "fully covered by every service center" - he either didn't read the mac warranty (90 day phone support, 1 year hardware) or just assumed it's a generic warranty. (there are no "service centers" for apple... apple stores, yes, but they aren't called service centers.)

in addition, all macs carry universal power supply that can adjust its voltage. the price being in USD because "the Mac is US voltage" makes no sense at all.

i imagine he will "accept escrow" until the transaction is to take place and then reneg on using it by claiming it doesn't work for him or that he's having technical problems...

yeah, you're right, and I decided not to bid. I still think that using escrow.com, there's not much chance I could get burned... but I just have a bad feeling about this guy.
I'm thinking the G4s exist, and maybe even will be sent to the winning bidders, but are stolen.